Contraction and Expansion
by illman
Summary: Elizabeth feels trapped in Antarctica. ONESHOT


Title: Contraction and Expansion  
Author: Illman  
Category: gen, friendship, pre-series  
Warnings: none  
Spoilers: Rising, Hide and Seek  
Rating: PG / FRT  
Summary: Elizabeth feels trapped in Antarctica.  
Disclaimer: It's not my universe.  
Author's Notes: Written for familyarchives in the Weir Ficathon.

* * *

No one was sure how exactly it happened. Dr. McKay, their foremost expert on Ancient technology blamed Dr. Beckett who had been sitting in the Ancient Chair at the time the power had gone down.

For a moment, an eerie silence had settled over the research outpost, twilight filling the halls, except for the bright blue light of the Ancient Chair. But the calm had only lasted for a moment, then frantic activity had broken lose.

No one could explain the sudden loss of power, but the implications were clear to everyone. Until they could repair the systems, the outpost would have to be evacuated. The Ancient systems would suffer no damage from the cold; they had been buried beneath the ice for millennia. It was their equipment that Elizabeth was worried about. Thousands of hours of work had gone into this project already, not to mention to amount of government funding that went into an endeavour like this. A major set-back could jeopardize all this, make he suits in Washington reconsider whether their work was worth the money. They had yet to show that the defence system that had saved Earth once could be reactivated or that the Ancient technology could be brought to any use. Any military use that was. That was what they were really supposed to find. Ways to make the Ancient technology exploitable in conflict situations. The potential was there. But, sometimes she wondered, were they not just children playing with toys they didn't understand? She had seen powerful weapons in the hands of desperate men. Earth was desperate.

She turned her back, following her co-workers to the top level.

* * *

Being at McMurdo was the same as being at the Ancient research outpost. Except, everything kept getting worse. It didn't start out too well. The base hadn't been prepared for the influx of almost 40 researchers on no notice. There was no room for all the additional people, forcing them to double up on room. Although her roommate, Dr. Carrras, was a quiet woman, Elizabeth valued her privacy and was irked that the quiet respite of her off hours was now filled with the clicking of keys as Dr. Carras typed away on her laptop until early in the morning.

The repairs had hit a slump. McKay and a team of engineers had been taking daily trips out to the outpost for the past three days and they were no closer to getting the systems back running then they had been the moment the power had cut out.

Elizabeth woke to the sound of typing. She didn't need to turn to know the source. Dr. Carras was already at her laptop, typing away. Elizabeth raised her arm, glancing at her watch. It was five minutes to six. Did the computer scientist never sleep? The clicking of keys had kept her thoughts company the previous nights until past midnight.

Trying to escape the sound and the tiny room, she fled to the showers.

The corridors seemed small, the artificial lighting dim and oppressive as she headed to the commissary for breakfast.

The day shift was soon the start and the commissary was filled with people getting ready for their day. She stood with her tray, looking for the empty table that wasn't there, when a familiar voice called her name.

"Elizabeth! I have been meaning to talk to you before we left." Rodney called from somewhere to her right.

She scanned the crowd and found him two tables further away. She went over and sat down, trying to shake the feeling of irritation that had followed her out of bed.

"You know, I have been thinking. What if it's not a power problem at all. I mean we have checked the generator and they are all fine. They should be working perfectly. What if it's something completely different?"

Elizabeth found herself glaring at Rodney. Why couldn't he come to the point? The man just loved to hear himself talk.

He wasn't impressed at the least and just went on.

"I was thinking that it has to be connected to the Ancient technology. Some sort of interference pattern or signal. I know it sounds far fetched, but really the only logical explanation--"

"Rodney!" It came it sharper than she had intended.

Rodney said nothing and looked at her.

"Fix it. Do whatever you have to do." Elizabeth ordered. Suddenly, she couldn't wait to get out of the crowded commissary, the rest of her breakfast forgotten.

McKay took her shortness in stride, turning back to his sandwich as if he hadn't heard her at all. Elizabeth shot him final glare before fleeing from the commissary.

She strode down the corridors, not sure where she was heading. She craved open space, feeling trapped inside the walls of the complex. The walls seemed to be looming in on her as she sped up.

"Dr. Weir! You have a message from Washington!"

She whirled around, searching for person who had dared to disturb.

A young uniformed man was holding up a handful of papers. She went over and snatched them up.

"Thank you." She said curtly and turned on her heel, leaving the man standing in the corridor.

Elizabeth wished for the calm of her office. Here, there was nowhere to go. She couldn't go back to her assigned quarters; Dr. Carras would be there, hammering away on her laptop, the commissary was too crowded and the rec room was too noisy.

She had never felt so boxed in before. Living in closed quarters had never bothered her, but she had always had that bit of quiet space to retreat to, and a job to keep her mind of just how limited living space really was. Being here with nothing to do but wait for the repairs to finish, she felt herself getting more and more irritated every day.

She sighed and headed for her quarters. She would have to put up with Dr. Carras typing for the time-being, if she wanted to read the communiqué from D.C.

There were no good news from Washington. Nothing was said about the recent crisis, but Elizabeth had been in politics long enough to know that it must have triggered that inquiry. Not for the first time, the projects basis was being called into question. The government wanted tangible results, not just scientific theories that would end up gathering dust in Area 51's archives. They had found what passed for missiles, but were far from knowing how to control them, let alone reengineer one. Dr. Beckett was working on his gene therapy pet project, which while a good idea in general, they could sure use more people with the ATA gene, was likely to be a futile effort even if it did work. The FDA was never going to allow human trial of experimental gene therapy. To the government, it was just another waste of money, an interesting scientific pursuit that would yield not usable application.

Maybe she was leaving her people too much room. The project was as fascinating as it was trying. The work conditions in the Antarctic were difficult, and the progress on the project was slow. On days like today, she wondered what had ever possessed her to accept the job.

Dr. Carras mutilating her keyboard was killing her last nerve.

"Dr. Carras, can you just do something else, for twenty minutes?" Elizabeth sounded desperate and she knew it. Today was not a good day.

"I'm doing my job. I'm working on a new translation software for the engineers. The version two engine should speed up word look-up by almost 25."

"That's very impressive, Dr. Carras." Elizabeth remarked, remembering suddenly that she was working with a lot of highly skilled professionals, who were not always as perceptive when it came to social norms.

Without another word, Elizabeth left, the sound of Dr. Carras picking up the typing again, echoing after her. She leaned against the wall outside, trying to calm down. She didn't know what was wrong. She felt almost claustrophobic, the corridors seemed dimmer and narrower than usual, and she could feel the tension lurking beneath the barely controlled exterior. She tried to take a couple of deep breath to find her equilibrium again, but the air felt thick and heavy, having none of the qualities of fresh air.

"Dr. Weir?"

No! She didn't want to hear it, whoever it was.

"Are you all right?"

She looked up. One of the soldiers from McMurdo stood in front of her.

"I'm fine." She hissed.

"Good." He said. "I'm looking for Dr. Weir."

"That's me." She hoped that he wasn't bringing more bad news from Washington. She had had enough for the day.

"Dr. McKay needs you at the outpost."

She had forgotten all about him. Hopefully not another setback. She didn't see how she would explain it to Washington if it took much longer until they could get back to work. She didn't know if she could take it if she were stuck here much longer with no space and nothing to do.

"Did he say why?"

"I don't know any details, I'm sorry. I'm just your pilot for the trip."

Elizabeth wanted to snap, but she reminded herself that it was not his fault that the project was classified.

She followed him down the corridor, trying to ignore the walls tilting. She swallowed and braced herself on the wall, trying to ground herself. The air was taking on a syrupy quality, making it difficult to breathe. She stopped, leaning over to catch her breath.

A hand was on her elbow, supporting her gently.

"You should go to the infirmary. Come on, I'll take you there." he urged.

She tried to focus on him, anything to quell the rising panic.

"I'm all right. She straightened, forcing herself to breathe more evenly. She could feel the effort draining her.

He hesitantly started walking again. Grinding her teeth, she followed him. Every muscle of her body felt tense, she kept her gaze focussed on him in order to avoid looking at the walls. She hoped that he didn't catch her doing it and got the wrong impression. That would be the last thing she needed today.

Somehow she made it outside. The icy air hit her without warning. Like always, the first breath came as a surprise, the freezing air burned in her lungs. Winter mornings didn't compare to the dry, cold of the Antarctic. But while the low temperature was a shock to her system, the view of the open, frozen landscape was a relief and she could feel the tension easing from her muscles. She felt his eyes on her and turned.

He was smiling.

"Just wait until we are in the air." He said cryptically.

Elizabeth wondered what he meant and followed him to the chopper.

Twenty minutes later they were in the air. As she looked out the window, down at the vast expanse of ice and snow below her, she knew what the pilot had meant. From up there, she really felt more balanced than she had all day. The bird's eye view of the open plain soothed her nerves and she wondered just how much the soldier knew about having the walls close in on one's person.


End file.
